Book Club : Love and War

I wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes from the book  Love and War by John and Staci Eldredge and my own thoughts on love this Valentine’s Day at the end.  Love and War was a great read!  Scott and I read it together.  We need to do that.  It gets us talking and thinking about our life and marriage.  We usually feel more connected, motivated and honestly prepared to deal with the next challenge life has for us.  One of the best things for us that came from this book is, to remember to pray together because, God has answers for us!  Instead of us leading the charge, lets pray and see what God thinks.  It takes some pressure off us and, we are seeking his way together.  Well, on to my favorite quotes.  I hope you enjoy them.  I hope you get the book!  If a marriage book isn’t for you, try The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge.  It’s really rich.  It’s not weird (it kind of sounds weird)!  I wouldn’t recommend a weird book to you.  It’s really good!  It was foundational for me.  I hope you check both of the books out.

From Love and War by the Eldredge’s

“Deep in the well spring of our hearts there is a desire for intimacy, beauty and adventure.”p. 2

“The serpent in the garden is really the Prince of Darkness…..
Life is a love story set in the midst of desperate times, set in the midst of war.  It is a story of a shared quest.  It is a story of romance.” p. 3

“There are stories of danger; there are stories where evil is very, very real.  There are stories which require immense courage and sacrifice.” p4

“What did the ancients know, that they placed vows a the core of this ceremony?”p5

Desire:
To be known, to live my life with and, to lean on their strength.
To be believed in, to have a companion on a great adventure, beauty.
p. 20-21

“We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19

“Isn’t love the greatest joy of human existence?  And the loss of love our greatest sorrow?  Do not the two great commands confirm this?  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart… and your neighbor as yourself” Luke 10:27  Love, for this is your destiny.  Love God, and love each other.  The banners that fly over God’s kingdom are the banners of love. p. 27

“love one another sincerely, from the heart.” 1 Peter 1:22

“Beloved, let us love one another.” 1 John 4:7

“A new command I give you- love one another.” John 13:34

“The heart is God’s most magnificent creation, and the prize over which he fights the kingdom of darkness.
Now consider this — marriage is the sanctuary of the heart.  You have been entrusted with the heart of another human being.  Whatever else your life’s great mission will entail, loving and defending this heart next to you is part of your great quest.” p.37

From me, Jen, these are my thoughts on  love today.
It’s worth fighting for.
Love out lasts and grows even after death.
Grieving is loving. Love and grief, they are interwoven and tied as a knot.
I can’t stop thinking about a close friend of mine, whose mom, was diagnosed today with stage 3 cancer.  I think of her parents marriage and think, their love will be taken to new levels in this trial.  With tears I close and I am thankful we get to go through this life with love.  I am thankful for the love in my family and my love goes out to my friends tonight. 

Finally, a peace and confidence that is ours in love.
“None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
Romans 8:37-39 in the Message